


defying gravity

by the_mixed_up_files_of_me



Category: The Good Doctor (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M, Friends to Lovers, Realisation of feelings, this is so fluffy honestly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-02
Updated: 2018-04-02
Packaged: 2019-04-17 04:40:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 978
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14180835
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_mixed_up_files_of_me/pseuds/the_mixed_up_files_of_me
Summary: It's platonic. Totally platonic, Claire reminds herself as she sits across from Shaun at breakfast. This is more than a routine, it's a staple in their lives now. A morning without him leaves her hollow and off-centred for the rest of the day.That doesn't mean anything though. Just friends miss each other all the time.





	defying gravity

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everybody!
> 
> It's barely been hiatus but I'm already missing Shaire, so this fic sort of just happened out of nowhere. Thank you all so much for your lovely comments on my last Shaire fic. They mean so, so much to me and inspire me to keep writing <3
> 
> And @/Coldsayou on tumblr...consider this fic another gift for you, the true captain of this ship <3

_It's platonic. Totally platonic_ , Claire reminds herself as she sits across from Shaun at breakfast. This is more than a routine, it's a staple in their lives now. A morning without him leaves her hollow and off-centred for the rest of the day. _That doesn't mean anything though. Just friends miss each other all the time._

 _We work together_ , Shaun informs the young patient who asks him if he's dating Claire. The patient looks disbelieving, merely rising her eyebrows. Shaun fiddles with the stethoscope that he wearing around his neck, busying himself as he reads the chart. We work together, we work together. It's a loop, a song that plays so often that he's learned all the words to it.

 _I don't have feelings for Shaun_ , Claire denies to herself as she walks inside his apartment. Of course they've been spending more time together after work — they're friends. Friends hang out together. She spends time with her other colleagues; not as much as she does with Shaun but that's just details and coincidence.

 _I don't like Claire that way_ , Shaun tells himself as he finds himself talking to her more, carefully opening up his fractured heart and memories for her to see. It's so gradual — a sentence here and there, a brief story of his childhood. Putting that history between them is making a difference to him. Talking to someone about these things is something that he did not know he needed until he did know.

 _Shaun is a very good friend_ , Claire whispers to keep herself in check. Whenever he shares a fragment of himself with her, when his carefully guarded soul is bared just enough for her to see him, she has to restrain herself from compassionately reaching out to embrace him in a well-deserved hug. And somehow, the more he shares, the more she hears herself sharing too. He listens, more than anyone has ever listened to her before. His eyes grow thoughtful, as if she is a patient that he desperately wants to heal. Occasionally he offers her a light touch to the shoulder; the feeling of his hand on her is etched into her memory.

 _A very, very good friend_ , Shaun's mind hums as something inside him stirs as he sees her at one of the hospital galas. Normally fundraiser events such as these are the last thing he wants to do but she encouraged him to attend. Any resignation begins to evaporate when she comes over to him. Tendrils of her hair frame her features, her smile making him feel at home in a crowd of strangers. _Incandescent_ , Shaun thinks suddenly. She's incandescent, incandescently beautiful.

 _I've danced with friends before_ , Claire weakly thinks as he hesitantly takes her hand and they step into the outskirts of the dance floor. Off to the side, they're private and it's better that way; neither of them like the crowds. It's strange, she realises, how they're around a crowd but as soon as his hand rests on her waist, the voices surrounding them become nothing but background noise. Bringing her eyes to meet his, that's when she feels herself submerge in his gaze. She's underwater — his eyes are holding her there — and there's no air to breathe suddenly; she's never fallen quite this hard from quite so high before. _Why does he have to look at me like that?_

 _Is this the way that friends look at each other?_ Shaun can't process a fact, a theory, a possibility or an explanation. It's uncharted territory for him, questions he's never had to ask until this moment right here with her. He asks her if they can go outside; the noise, the feelings are catching up to him at rapid speed. She, seeming tense herself, agrees at once. Finding the nearest exist, they're walking closely together as if pulled together by gravity. The florescent lights of the sidewalk outside, the cool air and the silence away from the crowd are welcomed warmly by them.

 _If this is friendship then why can't I stop staring into his eyes?_ Her throat is dry as she wants to step back from him but finds herself being drawn nearer and nearer to him. Her breath mists around her lips as she manages a lighthearted laugh. At least, she hopes it sounds lighthearted. "Beautiful night," she remarks because there's is an achingly long pause. He's studying her, studying her so intently as if his mind is on overdrive to figure out what this chemical reaction sparking between them is. And there's something else, something else in his considering face that is pulling at conflicted strings in her chest; a softness in his expression that she's never seen before.

 _I can't think of an explanation for this. Do I even want to?_ He distantly wonders. He's hardly ever had to question himself before. Apprehension catches in his throat, as the desire to be impulsive for once chases away the trepidation. And he trusts her, trusts that she won't overreact if he asks her this one thing that he hasn't been able to get off his mind right now, no matter how hard he tries. It's straightforward and sincere: "Can I kiss you?"

 _He's so much more than a friend. So much more to me than a friend._  Always has been. Claire nods, hearing herself tremulously murmur, "Yes, please." _Please, please_ — it's an invitation she's wanted since he looked at her the first time with those ocean eyes. His fingers brush against her loose tendrils of hair, twisting around them as his lips sink against hers. Warmth floods her cheeks as her palms press into his shoulders. To be kissed and to know that person means it with every fibre of their soul is a gravity-defying sensation. Eternity is between them, thousands of feelings that cannot be said, only felt and understood in the heart.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! Kudos and comments always make me smile so feel free to leave one. I would love to chat with you in the comments! Xx


End file.
